April Belback

Key Areas

mentoring and advising • student success • student success hub • undergraduate student resources • academic intervention • academic technology • advising professional development • belongingness interventions

Associate Vice Provost Role

As the Associate Vice Provost of Student Success and Advising, Dr. Belback leads the University of Pittsburgh’s collaborative vision for holistic advising, mentoring and student success by connecting campus innovators, advisors, faculty, and students. She spearheads the implementation of the Undergraduate Academic Advising Coordination, as Pitt moves from a decentralized to a shared advising model in an effort to streamline the student experience and boost student success measures.

Dr. Belback also developed Pitt’s first framework for student success and leads a team dedicated to the mission of “positively impacting the student experience by providing holistic academic resources and collaborative professional development to ensure that every student has the chance to succeed and feel they belong at Pitt, regardless of their background or situation.” With a focus on the University’s strategic Plan for Pitt 2028, the team’s work aligns with the first pillar where “we will cultivate student success” with institutional objectives, team goals, and key performance assessment measures.

A transformational leader, Dr. Belback created and reorganized the Office of the Provost Student Success Team towards institutional effectiveness with five interconnected workstreams that align with key initiatives and priorities of the Office of the Provost:

1. The Academic Intervention and Outreach team identifies systematic methods for addressing student behaviors contributing to attrition through strategic and data-driven support by employing intervention and outreach strategies such as academic coaching, re-enrollment services, and academic referrals.
2. The Program and Project Management workstream and includes the management of programs through academic technical solutions or software on campus as well as formal project management. The PPM team also leads the Pitt PRSSIM Project in support of our regional and rural campus partners and students.
3. The Advising and Professional Development workstream is focused on advocating for holistic advising interactions and building relationships with advisors and mentors across the university by creating and supporting professional development and communications. 
4. In 2022, Belback launched the opening of the inaugural Student Success Hub at the University of Pittsburgh, which exists as a space for students to collaborate with each other and with university resources. The Hub is home to several programs that support students who are at-promise and also serves as a the point of connection and coordination for the Student Success Newsletter, SASS (Student Academic Success Series), and Undergraduate Research for all students at Pitt.
5. Through our Research Practitioner partnerships, Dr. Belback leads efforts in institutional collaborations and interventions that bring insights and best practices in order to build a campus where every student can feel they belong.

Belback and team offer consultation services internally to the Pitt community and externally to institutions who are interested in learning about our work or collaborating with us.

Professional Biography

A proud first-generation college student herself, Dr. Belback has a long history of educating and working with at-promise student populations. Prior to joining Pitt, she served as the Director of Advising and Division of Undergraduate Studies Coordinator at The Pennsylvania State University, Greater Allegheny Campus, where the first-generation and limited-income student population is over 50%. Belback also served the campus as the Program Director for TRIO Student Support Services. Earlier in her career, Belback’s focus was on rural education, where she taught high school English, was a cooperative lead for pre-service teachers, and a temporary faculty member for secondary education at California University of Pennsylvania.

Dr. Belback leads the steering committee for the AACoP (Advising Administration Community of Practice) for the Association of Undergraduate Education at Research Universities (UERU). She is also on NACADA’s leadership as the chair of the Advising Administrator Advising Community.